When does Making Tax Digital for Income Tax start for landlords?

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD for ITSA) applies to landlords from 6 April 2026 if their total gross income from property (and self-employment, combined) exceeds £50,000. Landlords with income between £30,000 and £50,000 must join from April 2027.

What income threshold triggers MTD for landlords?

The threshold for the April 2026 phase is gross income of more than £50,000 from property letting and/or self-employment combined. 'Gross income' means total rent received before deducting expenses — not profit. Landlords below £50,000 but above £30,000 enter MTD from April 2027.

What does MTD for landlords actually require?

Landlords within MTD must keep digital records of income and expenses, submit quarterly updates to HMRC using MTD-compatible software, and file an annual End of Period Statement (EOPS) and final declaration replacing the traditional Self Assessment return. Quarterly updates are not tax returns — they are summary reports of income and expenses.

What software works for MTD for landlords?

HMRC maintains a list of MTD-compatible software on GOV.UK. Products include QuickBooks, Xero, FreeAgent, Hammock (property-specific), and several others. Spreadsheets can be used with bridging software that converts the data to MTD API format. Fully compliant software is preferable.

Are jointly owned properties included in the MTD income threshold?

Yes, the gross rental income from jointly owned properties is counted in full for each owner's threshold assessment unless a formal income split has been declared to HMRC. If you own a rental property 50/50 with a spouse or partner, you each count 50% of the gross rent towards your individual thresholds.

Making Tax Digital for Landlords: April 2026 Start Date, Thresholds and Software Checklist

Free tool

MTD checker

Enter your gross property income and we will tell you whether MTD applies and from which tax year.

Open the tool

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD for ITSA) started for the first group of landlords on 6 April 2026. If your gross rental income — plus any self-employment income — exceeds £50,000 a year, you are in the first phase. This guide covers what the rules require, the April 2027 expansion, and the software choices available. The official documentation is on GOV.UK's Making Tax Digital for Income Tax page.

The MTD for ITSA rollout: who is affected and when

Phase	Start date	Who is affected
Phase 1	6 April 2026	Gross income from property letting and/or self-employment combined > £50,000
Phase 2	6 April 2027	Gross income £30,000–£50,000
Phase 3 (proposed)	TBC (likely 2028)	Gross income £20,000–£30,000

The threshold is based on gross income — total rent received before deducting any expenses — not on profit. A landlord receiving £52,000 in gross rent and spending £30,000 on mortgage interest, repairs, and agents' fees still crosses the £50,000 threshold even though the profit is much lower.

Income from properties held in a limited company is outside MTD for ITSA. Companies file Corporation Tax returns, which have their own digital requirements under Making Tax Digital for Corporation Tax (a separate, later initiative).

What MTD for ITSA requires from landlords

The four core requirements:

Digital record keeping. Income and expenses must be recorded in MTD-compatible software. Paper records or spreadsheets without bridging software do not satisfy this requirement.
Quarterly updates to HMRC. Four times a year, landlords must submit a summary of rental income and expenses using their MTD software. The quarters align with the tax year: April–June, July–September, October–December, January–March. Each update must be submitted within one month of the quarter end.
End of Period Statement (EOPS). After the end of the tax year (31 January deadline), landlords submit an EOPS for each property business — the equivalent of the property income pages on a traditional Self Assessment return.
Final declaration. Replaces the annual Self Assessment return. Confirms all income sources for the year and calculates the final tax liability.

Quarterly updates are not tax payments — they are reports. The tax calculation and payment dates remain the same: balancing payment by 31 January, first payment on account by 31 January, second payment on account by 31 July.

What counts as a separate "property business"

HMRC treats furnished holiday lets (FHLs) and ordinary residential letting as two separate property businesses, each requiring its own EOPS. If you have both, you will submit two end-of-period statements per year.

Joint ownership: where a property is jointly owned, each owner has their own MTD obligations for their share of the income. A 50/50 ownership split means each owner reports 50% of the gross income — but each is individually responsible for their own MTD compliance.

Choosing MTD-compatible software

HMRC's software approval list is maintained at GOV.UK. The main options for property landlords:

Software	Best for	Cost (approx)
Hammock	Property landlords specifically — rental income, expenses, mortgage tracking	~£12/month
QuickBooks	Landlords with mixed property + self-employment income	~£30/month
FreeAgent	Smaller portfolios, accountant-preferred	~£19/month
Xero	Larger portfolios with complex accounts	~£28/month
Spreadsheet + bridging software	Landlords unwilling to switch from Excel	£5–£15/month for bridging tool

Property-specific software like Hammock integrates with bank feeds and classifies transactions against rental income categories automatically. General accounting software requires more manual categorisation but may already be in use if you also have self-employment income.

The quarterly submission deadlines

For the 2026/27 tax year (starting 6 April 2026), the quarterly update deadlines are:

Quarter	Period	Submission deadline
Q1	6 Apr – 5 Jul 2026	5 Aug 2026
Q2	6 Jul – 5 Oct 2026	5 Nov 2026
Q3	6 Oct – 5 Jan 2027	5 Feb 2027
Q4	6 Jan – 5 Apr 2027	5 May 2027

Missing a quarterly update deadline triggers a points-based penalty system. Points accumulate and convert to a financial penalty once you reach a threshold (4 points = £200 penalty). Points expire after 24 months of clean submissions.

Common landlord MTD questions

Does property income from furnished holiday lets still qualify for FHL tax advantages?

The FHL regime — which provided Capital Gains Tax reliefs and allowed finance costs to be deducted in full — was abolished from 6 April 2025. Former FHL properties are now taxed as ordinary property income. For MTD purposes, if you previously had FHL properties you may need to reconfigure how your software categorises them.

My accountant handles everything. Do I still need to do anything?

Your accountant can submit MTD updates on your behalf as your agent, but you need to authorise them in your HMRC account. You also need digital records maintained in MTD-compatible software — you cannot simply hand over a bundle of receipts at year end as you may have done previously.

What if my income fluctuates around the threshold?

If your gross income was above £50,000 in the 2024/25 or 2025/26 tax year (the assessment years used for Phase 1 eligibility), you are in Phase 1 regardless of what your income is in 2026/27. Confirm your eligibility position with your accountant or via GOV.UK.

What this could look like as a portfolio tool

MTD income tracker concept

A property management platform could combine rental income data with property details from the Homedata API — floor area, property type, postcode — to produce the property records that underpin both MTD submissions and compliance documentation. Generating a pre-formatted CSV of gross income per property per quarter, ready to import into MTD software, would eliminate the most time-consuming part of the quarterly update process for multi-property landlords.